Gael Monfils says he sees Carlos Alcaraz the same as Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic: “He’s just a bit younger, but he’s already a legend”

Gael Monfils puts Carlos Alcaraz on a pedestal ahead of their match in Cincinnati by comparing him to the greatest players in history.

Gael Monfils says he sees Carlos Alcaraz the same as Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic: “He’s just a bit younger, but he’s already a legend”

Gael Monfils compares Carlos Alcaraz to the Big Three (images via Imago)

Ahead of his much-anticipated meeting in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters against the Spaniard, Gael Monfils heaped praise on Carlos Alcaraz by holding him to the same standard as the Big 3. He believes the young Spaniard is already a legend and expects great things from him in the future.

On August 15th, Gael Monfils will be playing Carlos Alcaraz for the third time and the veteran Frenchman is yet to win a set against the 21-year-old. Monfils has faced off against all members of the Big 3 multiple times in the last two decades and now he puts Alcaraz in the same level as them in his books.

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He’s a complete athlete, in terms of speed, endurance, power. And then his tennis, of course, is quite complete, too. Backhand, forehand, it's quite hard to see where you can hit. He improved a lot on the return, he’s serving big. He’s just a really complete player. At the moment, I see him (the same) as Novak, as Rafa, as Roger, for me. He’s just a bit younger, but he’s already a legend.
Gael Monfils to the press in Cincinnati

The two showmen are set to meet in the second round of the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati and it is sure to be an electric match as they are both known for unbelievable shot-making.

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Gael Monfils stuns Montreal champion Alexei Popyrin in Cincinnati

Earlier this week, in a surprising run, underdog Alexei Popyrin knocked out three top 10 players, Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, and Grigor Dimitrov en route to the biggest title of his career in Montreal. 

Gael Monfils and Alexei Popyrin
Gael Monfils and Alexei Popyrin (images via Imago)

In a dominant display of tennis, he dispatched Rublev in straight sets in the final. However, he had no time to prepare for his next event, another Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, which he played just a day after his final in Canada. In the first round, he faced off against 37-year-old Gael Monfils who had bowed out in the first round of Montreal.

The additional time that Monfils had to rest and prepare seemed to be the deciding factor in the one-sided affair that was his first round in Cincinnati. He took out in-form Popyrin 7-5, 6-3 to set up a meeting with world no.2 Carlos Alcaraz.

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